Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner has regained his ‘Glad All Over’ factor – but will it last into the 2024/25 Premier League season? | Football News

When Crystal Palace are at their best, Selhurst Park comes alive. The stands shake with joy, the Dave Clarke Five’s ‘Glad All Over’ is sung like a national anthem, the fans pledge their allegiance to the Eagles.

And in the final quarter of the 2023/24 season it has become a regular fixture, a welcome break from many of the previous months.

Fans had once again become disillusioned with the direction of the club under Roy Hodgson, as Palace hovered dangerously close to a relegation battle. There was a lack of the creative spark that is so coveted at Selhurst Park, despite the cultivation of a squad of the brightest young talents.

Then came Austrian Oliver Glasner as Hogson’s replacement. “He is an underrated coach, he is a tactical genius and has his own mind,” said Philipp Hinze of Sky Germany.

The Europa League-winning manager took some time to settle in, needing time to fine-tune his working methods and adapt to a new league, something rarely afforded to football managers.

But when Glasner and his player hit it off, it was electrifying.

Glasner Palace enhancement

They are unbeaten in their last seven games, winning six of them, including against Liverpool and Manchester United. Only Fulham took points from them in a 1-1 draw.

Overall, Glasner has taken charge of 13 Premier League games with only three defeats. Even in defeats or draws, there have been signs of improvement: scoring twice against Manchester City, for example, is no mean feat.

Comparing their 13 games with the previous 25, Glasner’s Crystal Palace have scored one goal more, created more big chances and kept the same clean sheet.

The Eagles attacked with intent, confidence and creativity, which led to their goal glut. They only conceded four in that period, and that was without the injured Marc Guehi.

As can be seen from the comparable heat maps, under Glasner, Crystal Palace have certainly played more forward, with a much darker tone in the opposition half.

Mateta the big winner since Glasner’s arrival

One of the players who has benefited greatly from Glasner’s arrival is Jean-Philippe Mateta.

It’s hard to believe he’s been at the club since January 2021. Mateta was seen primarily as a team player, usually deployed when the Eagles needed a goal. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

But he played 25 Premier League games last season and the arrival of Oliver Glasner has allowed Mateta to find form again.

In 13 games, he scored more league goals (13) than he did under Hodgson (5 in 35 games) or Patrick Vieira (6 in 44). That included back-to-back braces and a hat-trick on the final day against Aston Villa.

He continued his form into the summer, playing for France at the 2024 Olympics and scoring five goals as Thierry Henry’s side won a silver medal. It perfectly demonstrates how sport is fueled by confidence.

It’s a sentiment Glasner agrees with, saying in April: “When strikers score and have confidence, their decision-making is better.

“He has chances in every game and makes great runs. He’s investing a lot and he’s a really hard worker. He runs 10 times when he doesn’t get the ball, but he does it [anyway]. This helps the team create space and create opportunities.”

Returning to Palace after such a successful summer should be music to the ears of the fans and staff. The experience of being coached by one of the Premier League’s all-time greats will surely bring further benefits too.

How will the details impact the new season?

Palace didn’t want the season to end. But nothing lasts forever and the question now is: can the Eagles continue their form into the 2024/25 campaign?

It would have been a summer of change already. Not only is it Glasner’s first transfer window to shape his squad, but a number of his best players have been linked with an exit.

One has already gone with Michael Olise, who joined Bayern Munich in a £50.8m deal. Glasner’s success so far has largely depended on the fitness and availability of both Olise and Eberechi Eze.

Both have struggled with injury in recent years and were absent towards the end of Hodgson’s tenure, but they were the power duo that spearheaded Crystal Palace’s unbeaten run. Their link-up play behind Mateta allowed Crystal Palace to play with fluidity and creativity.

Now, Glasner must find a way to replace not only Olise, but potentially Eze as well. While there have been few concrete links so far, it would not be a surprise if the England midfielder found himself on the move for a big fee this summer.

Guehi’s eye-catching Euro 2024 campaign has also attracted the attention of Newcastle and Liverpool. Another player who has blossomed at Crystal Palace, there’s no denying he would be a huge loss, but the team has shown they can survive without him.

Due to a knee injury, Guehi has played just three times under Glasner, starting only in the final game of the season. Daniel Munoz and Joachim Andersen are a good centre-back partnership, before the £14m signing of Chadi Riad from Barcelona this summer.

But Andersen has also been the subject of offers from Fulham, where he spent the 2020/21 season on loan, and it would be a tall order to lose both of their starting centre-backs in the same transfer window.

Then there’s Jordan Ayew. So often a quiet workhorse for his team, he too has been linked with a move. Palace have already made moves to bring in Ismaila Sarr, who will likely limit Ayew’s playing time on the right flank.

Sarr is less of a direct replacement for Olise, although that doesn’t mean he can’t bring other qualities, but the club are keen to bring in another winger. One of those could be Wilfried Zaha, who only left Palace last summer for Galatasaray.

While it may sound nostalgic, Crystal Palace’s transfer strategy has long been about identifying young talent and developing them into top-class players – we’ve seen it happen time and time again.

A recent example is Adam Wharton, whose meteoric rise has seen him included in England’s squad for Euro 2024. He only joined Palace from Blackburn in the January window, but his intelligence and technical ability soon made him a player to start.

Other clubs have shown interest in the 20-year-old this summer, although Crystal Palace is probably the best place for a player of his age to develop further.

Glasner hopes that despite the loss of some real talent, he still has the right players on his team to execute a game plan that proved so effective toward the end of last season.

And the window is still a few weeks away from closing. Keeping some of their key talent would be a success, while there will be other deals in the works to strengthen the squad.

But ultimately it is a window that will count heavily in defining Palace’s success this season.

The Eagles must now push for further success

There is cautious optimism among fans that the “Glad All Over” factor can continue. They have a smart and dynamic manager at the helm and have already made moves to replace players who have or will leave the club.

Glasner will be well aware of the transfer cycles that occur at a club like Crystal Palace and has already demonstrated his winning credentials as a manager. Now let’s see if he can make the same adjustments in the Premier League and, more importantly, push the Eagles further.

Any relegation battle is out of the question. Perhaps the Eagles’ most realistic goals would be long runs in cup competitions, where they have had some success in recent years.

Pre-season has also been positive, but the real test will come on Sunday when Crystal Palace open their 2024/25 Premier League campaign with a visit to Brentford, live on Vscek.